Summary Of All Quiet On The Western Front

Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front is a chilling story about the drastic hardships and brutality of war. The novel follows the narration of a young solider, Paul Bäumer, through his experiences as a German soldier throughout the First World War. Paul is introduced along with his fellow soldiers. The reader is soon introduced to Paul’s first personal loss of Kemmerich. Following the first bombardment, the young soldiers realize the true nature of war and the atrocity that it is. Eventually, Paul takes a seventeen-day leave, but is unable to thoroughly enjoy it due to the trauma of war. Succeeding his leave, he is sent to observe Russian prisoners where he takes pity on them and realizes that they are much like him. After the loss of many of his friends and fellow soldiers, Paul is left with only six others from his class. At the end of the narration, on what was described as a calm and quiet day in October 1918, the reader learns that Paul dies. Among the themes All Quiet on the Western Front poses, the most prominent one is the outcome that the atrocities of war have on young soldiers. Paul, Müller, Leer, and Kropp are all nineteen years of age, and it is simple for a man so young …show more content…
Remarque chose the perfect writing style for this narration, and the choice to narrate it in the perspective of Paul Bäumer is what made this novel so beautiful and emotionally triggering. The reader is able to both envision and feel the effects that war has on a young individual. The majority of individuals have been educated about World War I inside the classroom, but this war novel helps the reader develop an entirely new understanding of the war. This novel was a phenomenal read, and was an easy read as well, and I found it difficult to put it down. I would recommend it to any individual of any age, as it was a truly remarkable and inspirational